ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate, Dr Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi, has been elected as the 13th President of Pakistan, according to unofficial results.
Arif Alvi secured 353 presidential votes, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman received 185 votes, while Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Aitzaz Ahsan received 124 votes.
The total number of seats in the electoral college was 1174 out of which 52 were vacant or result withheld or oath were not taken by returned candidates. The remaining 1122 voters were to exercise their right to vote.
According to the vote count received to the ECP from presiding officers, the number of voters who exercised their votes were 1110, while 27 votes were declared invalid. Thus, the number of valid votes was 1083.
The official result of count on Form VII will be forward to the federal government tomorrow who will then issue a formal notification.
A total of 424 votes were polled in the presidential election in the National Assembly and Senate. Dr Arif Alvi received 212 votes,while 131 votes were cast in favour Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the candidate backed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), while Aitzaz Ahsan obtained 81 votes.
100 votes were cast in favour of the PPP candidate at the Sindh Assembly, whereas 56 votes were polled to the PTI candidate. Six members of the opposition also voted for Mr Ahsan. Maulana Fazlur Rehman got just one vote while one vote was rejected
In the Balochistan Assembly, Mr Alvi secured 45 votes while Mr Ahsan managed to secure 15 votes.
In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly where the PTI is in power, its candidate obtained 78 votes while Mr Rehman got 26 votes and the PPP candidate received 5 votes. Two votes were rejected.
Mr Alvi bagged 186 votes in the Punjab Assembly, Mr Rehman 41 and Mr Ahsan 6 votes. As many as 18 votes were rejected.
Alvi thanked PTI chairman Imran Khan for nominating him for the coveted post, and lauded the sacrifices of party workers and activists.
“I am grateful to Allah that the PTI-nominated candidate has been successful in the presidential race today,” Alvi said in his victory speech. “I am also thankful to Imran Khan for nominating me for such a huge responsibility.”
He said he was not the president of the PTI but all parties and the entire nation, and vowed to worked hard as per the law and the constitution.
He said there was a difference between security and protocol, and he will maintain protocol to a minimum. He hoped that the “fortunes of the poor” take a turn for the better, and they receive “food, shelter and clothing” and all children go to school.
He further said that he has struggled since the era of Ayub Khan, and will continue to work for the development and prosperity of the nation.
The polling began at the both house of Parliament and four provincial assemblies at 10am and continued without break till 4pm.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari are among those who cast their ballots in the presidential election at the National Assembly.
Two polling booths were set up in the National Assembly as Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Anwar Kasi discharged their responsibilities as returning officer and presiding officer for the presidential election, respectively.
The polling was also held at the Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhhwa and Balochistan assemblies where the chief justices of the respective provinces have been appointed as presiding officers.
The ruling party had pitched Dr Arif Alvi who faced Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, fielded by the opposition parties led by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), and the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) presidential candidate Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan.
Strict security arrangements were placed at the National Assembly, the four provincial assemblies and the Senate for the occasion.
How is the President of Pakistan elected?
The president of Pakistan is elected in a secret ballot by the provincial and national assemblies. There are total 706 assembly members who will elect the president.
Composition of electoral college
All provincial assemblies are allotted equal 65 votes in the Electoral College. This mean that the each member of the Punjab Assembly has 65/370 = 0.176 vote, each member of the Sindh Assembly has 65/168 = 0.387 vote, each member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has 65/124 = 0.524 vote and each member of the Balochistan Assembly has 65/65 = 1 vote.
As per the National Assembly stats, the composition of major political bodies in National assembly is as follows: PTI’s total National assembly seats are 151, PML-N has 81 while PPP has 54 seats. Likewise the MMA has 15 seats, MQM 7, Balochistan Awami Party 5, Balochistan National Party 4, GDA 3, PML 3, and independent candidates’ seats are 4.
The political composition of major political parties in the Senate includes PML-N’s 33 seats, PPP has 20 whereas PTI has 12. Previously the PTI had no representation in the Senate. The party with a few number of seats includes the MQM with 5 seats, JUI-F 4 seats, PKMAP has 3 seats, JI has 2 seats, ANP, PML-F and BNP one seat each.
According to article 41(3) Chief Election Commissioner has to conduct elections to the office of the President in a special session of Parliament and all the provincial assemblies in accordance with the provisions of Second Schedule to the Constitution. The President is elected for a term of 5 years.
The President is a ceremonial post, head of state, and merely a figurehead with the executive powers granted to Prime Minister, by the Constitution. The Constitution states that a presidential candidate must be a Muslim man or woman, not less than 45 years of age, and a Member of the National Assembly can contest the Presidential election.
The constitution further states that election to the office of President will not be held earlier than sixty days and not later than thirty days before the expiration of the term of the President in office.
